Apparatus for the high speed feeding of stacked articles



Sept. 11, 1962 c. B. cRoss ETAL 3,053,373-

APPARATUS FOR THE HIGH SPEED FEEDING OF STACKED ARTICLES I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 1. 1960 E@ V\\\\)L..

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I INVENTORJ CEDRIC B. CROSS s H FRANC/5 CRESCE/YZO BY fw" f4-4m@ a Avons/H5 es eed@ @/@QQ e@ a@ @Q Sept. 11, 1962 c. B. cRoss ETAL 3,053,373

APPARATUS FOR THE HIGH SPEED FEEDING OF STACKED ARTICLES Filed Dec. 1, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT ORS Came/c .B CROSS FR NCIS CRESCE/V20 BY falaz ATTOR/VYS Sept. 11, 1962 c. B. cRoss ETAL 3,053,373

APPARATUS EoR THE HIGH SPEED FEEDTNG 0E sTAcKED ARTICLES Filed DeG 1. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 EET 2 NV EN'TORS ED/TT TEEEREEZ N 5 Q @j 12 Ma A TTORNYS setts Filed Dec. 1, 1960, Ser. No. '72,985 11 Claims. (Cl. 198-20) The present invention relates to improvements in the high speed feeding of stacks `of crackers or like articles.

While automatic wrapping machines (such as disclosed `in U.S. Patent No. 2,810,246-Cornock et al.) have gained extremely high rates of operation, the full advantages of such machines have not been fully employed because of the problems which arise when attempting to feed certain articles at these high rates. The common package of soda crackers comprising four stacked crackers is representative of the size of articles which can be Wrapped at these extremely high speeds, upwards of 400 per minute. However, when it is realized that each package comprises four crackers and that actually 1600 crackers are being wrapped each minute, then the difficulties in feeding such articles will be more apparent. It is necessary to design means for delivering from a magazine, stacks of crackers which are fed Ato the infeed of the wrapping machine in spaced relation at the rate of 400 stacks per minute.

The actual development of magazine feeds capable of operating at these rates proved to be not too difficult a `job as known design principles could be employed. However, such magazine feeds were predicated upon the use of an overhead conveyor while wrapping machines of the type herein referred to are predicated on the use of an infeed conveyor wherein the flights move in a closed path beneath the line of feed. The latter type of conveyor will hereinafter be referred to as a beloW-the-line conveyor. It `thus became necessary to transfer the advance of the stacks of crackers from one conveyor to the other. This in turn involves transferring the stacks of crackers from a first platform to a second platform spaced therebeneath.

It is the `object of the present invention to facilitate the transfer of crackers from an overhead conveyor to a below-the-line-conveyor, or from one level to another level in a manner such that spilling of the crackers will be eliminated, and further, that all crackers in the stack will be at least approximately registered for proper advance through the wrapping machine without the danger of jamming or other malfunctions.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for insuring the absolute fore and aft registration of regularly shaped articles in stacks as they are advanced into a wrapping machine.

The above and other related objects, as well as the features `of the invention, will be apparent from a reading of the following description of the disclosure found in the accompanying drawings and ythe novelty thereof pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, with certain portions omitted and others in section, showing the transfer and registration means of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line lI--II in FIG. l;

FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 progressively show the action of certain elements seen in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 7 is a section taken on line VII-VII in FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are views showing the progressive action of certain elements seen in FIGS. 1 and 7.

Referring to FIG. l of the drawings, there is illustrated conveyor flights 16 which carry stacks S of crackers arent 0 ice I away from magazine feed means (not shown) and conveyor flights 18 which advance the stacks S into the wrapping machine (not shown).

The flights 16 are part of an overhead conveyor and are secured to an endless chain 20 which passes around spaced sprockets 21 and is driven in timed relation to the movement of the flights 18. rThe flights 1S are part of a below-the-line conveyor and comprise U-shaped straps 22 (FIG. 2) which are secured at their opposite sides to endless chains 24 which pass around spaced sprockets (not shown) and are driven in timed relation to the flights 16 and the instrumentalities of the wrapping machine. The latter may be constructed, for sake of illustration, in accordance with the previously mentioned Cornock, et al. patent. Preferably the straps 22 are pivotally connected to the chains 24 and extend therebelow. Links 25 connect the lower ends `of the straps 22 to the chains 24, thereby maintaining the flights 1S in an upright position as they advance the crackers along the platform 28.

The stacks S are carried from the magazine feed means, along rails 26 which comprise a first platform. As hereinbefore mentioned, one of the problems solved by the present invention is the high speed transfer of the stacks S from the first platform to a second platform spaced therebeneath in such a manner that there is no danger of the stack toppling, and a consequent stoppage of the work machine. As can be seen, the second platform comprises rails ZS along which the stacks S are advanced by the flights 18. The rails 26 and 28 are appropriately mounted on fixed frame elements. The rails 28 are recessed to provide a guideway which centralizes the lowermost cracker of each stack relative to the flight 1?. Fixed guideways 29 give positive lateral registration of each cracker stacked on the bottom cracker.

Means for transferring the stacks from the conveyor flights 16 to lthe flights 18 comprise a movable transfer plate Sii, having a depending leg 32 (FIGS. 1 and 2) secured to a block 34 by screws 36. The block 3d is rotatably mounted on an eccentric 38 having a flanged hub 39 secured to a shaft 4i?. A plate 41 is secured to eccentric 38 to retain the block 34 thereon. The shaft 40 is journaled by bearings 42 on fixed plates 44. A gear 46 secured to shaft 40 meshes with a gear 48 which is secured to` a shaft Sti. The shaft Sil'isV also journaled on plates 44 and is rotated through a sprocket 52 in timed relation to the movement of the conveyor flights 16 and 18. A tail 54 depends from the block 34 and is pivotally connected by a pin 56 to an arm 5S. The arm 5S is in turn pivotally joined at its opposite end to a shaft 60 which spans and is secured to the frame plates 44.

Rotation of shaft 50 and gear 48 will cause the eccentric 38 to rotate and impart movement to the transfer plate. The timed relationship of the movements of the flights 16 and 18 and transfer plate 30 may be best appreciated from FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6. In FIG. l it will be seen that the flight 16 is advancing a stack S toward the terminal end of the first platform 26. At this point, the transfer plate 30 is in substantially its uppermost and rearmos-t position. Next, in the timed sequence, as seen in FIG. 3, the flight 16 advances the stack S to the point where it is balanced on the end of the first platform 26. At this time the rear edge of the transfer plate 30 is positioned under the leading edge of `the stack-s S so that the stack would be maintained in a substantially upright position by the transfer plate 30 should the stack S fall from the end of the platform 26. FIG. 4 shows the leading portion of the stack S actually transferred to the plate 30; and also shows a flight 18 advancing at a faster rate to take over the feed of the stack S. FIG. 5 shows the stack S transferred to the plate 30 and the plate 30 moving downwardly and forwardly to the second or lower platform 28. FIG. 6 shows the lower flight -18 3 taking over the advance of the stack S from the flight 16 and further shows the transfer plate 30 dropped beneath the level of the platform 28 and moving rearwardly preparatory to its upward motion to again receive a stack of crackers from the platform 26 as the flight 18 passes thereover.

It will be seen that as the crackers have moved from the platform 26 to the platform 23, they have been maintained in substantially an upright position at all times, and further, in moving downwardly the stack has continued its forward movement so that when it is overtaken by the flight 1S, there is no sharp impact which might tend to jar the crackers in the stack or even tend to crush them, as might be expected at such high speeds of operation.

It will be apparent that by reversing the timing and direction of the flights 16 and 18, the stacks of crackers could be transferred from the below-the-line conveyor to the overhead conveyor.

In spite of the fact that the transferring means just described will prevent the stack S from toppling over, thereby preventing any shut ldown of the machine which might result `from the loss of a stack of crackers, there is some possibility that either in the transfer or in the original feeding system of the crackers, the crackers might not have been registered precisely in the stack. For the purposes of wrapping machines of the type referred to, it is highly desirable, if not essential, that the crackers in each stack be in substantially perfect register. Lateral registration, is, of course, obtained by the guideway formed in the platform 28 and side guides 29, while fore and aft registration is assured by the means now to be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7-11.

This mechanism (FIGS. l and 7) comprises a plurality of moving fingers 72, three in number, which are yieldingly mounted on arms 74. This yieldable mounting comprises pins 73, 75 which pass through oversize holes in the linger 72. Pin 73 has a cross pin in its outer end, while a spring 77 is coiled about pin 75 to maintain finger 72 in place. The levers 74 are pivotally mounted intermediate their lengths on a spider 76 by means of pins 78. A cam roll 80 is mounted on the other end of each of the levers 74 and is held against a relatively fixed cam 82 by a spring 84. The cam 82 is mounted on posts 81 extending from a frame plate 83. The spring 84 extends from a bracket 85 on the lever 74 to a spring pin in the hub of spider 76.

The spider 76 is keyed to a shaft 86 which is rotated (by means not shown) in fixed time relationship to the movement of the conveyor flights 18. This time relationship can be best appreciated from FIGS. 8 through 11 wherein it will be seen that a stack S, advanced by the flight 18, is overtaking one of the registration fingers 72 which has just been rotated past the forward end of the stack S. FIG. 9 shows the stack S almost overtaking the nger 72 Iand likewise shows the finger 72 in substantially a vertical position. At this point, the roll 80 4descends the sharp depression in the cam 80 and rotates in the direction of arrow B relative to the spider 76. This action maintains the finger 72 in a substantially upright position for a finite time so as to insure that all crackers will be brought into registration. The slight bend in the finger 72 has been found preferably because of the slight backward tipping of the finger 72 incident to maintaining the substantially upright position for a finite time. FIG. 10 shows the stack S actually overtaking the finger 72, with the finger 72 still in a substantially upright position and spaced ahead of the flight 18 by a distance representing the width of the crackers in the stack. Each cracker in the stack will therefore abut the finger 72 and be brought into proper registration. Thereafter, the finger 72 will be rapidly swung ahead by the cam 82 to advance beyond and below the stack S as the stack is advanced thereover by the flight 18. The next successive nger 72 is then positioned to register the stack S advanced by the next successive flight 18.

One of the -advantages of the described registering means is that the action of the registering fingers is dynamic, that is, they are moving in the same direction as the flights 1S. Therefore, there is no sharp or sudden impact which would tend to crush the crackers. Instead, the crackers are gently moved, when necessary, to bring them into proper registration.

The means herein described have `been found highly effective in providing a continuous supply of properly registered crackers over long periods of production runs for wrapping machines of the type herein disclosed.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as novel 4and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Mechanism for the high speed transfer of stacked crackers or like articles between an overhead conveyor and a below-the-line conveyor, wherein the overhead conveyor comprises spaced flights and the below-the-line conveyor also comprises spaced flights, a first platform over which the crackers are `advanced by the flights of the overhead conveyor, a second platform spaced therebeneath and over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of the below-the-line conveyor, and wherein the first platform has an end adjacent said second platform, a transfer plate movable between a first position aligned with the first platform and closely adjacent the end thereof and a second position aligned with the second platform, and means for moving the flights of said conveyors and said plate in such timed relation that crackers are advanced onto said plate in one of its positions and carried away from said plate when it is in its other position.

2. Mechanism for the high speed transfer of stacked crackers or like articles `from an overhead conveyor to a below-the-line conveyor, wherein the overhead conveyor comprises spaced flights and the below-the-line conveyor also comprises spaced flights, a first platform over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of said overhead conveyor, a second platform spaced below said first platform and over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of said below-the-line conveyor and wherein the first platform has an end adjacent said second platform, a transfer plate movable between a first position aligned with the first platform and closely adjacent the end thereof, and a second position aligned with the second platform and means for moving the flights of said conveyors and said plate in such timed relation that crackers are advanced over said plate in said first position and are carried away from said plate when it is in its second position.

3. Mechanism for the high speed transfer of stacked crackers or like articles from an overhead conveyor to a below-the-line conveyor wherein the overhead conveyor comprises spaced flights and the below-the-line conveyor also comprises spaced flights, a first platform over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of the overhead conveyor towards the terminal end thereof, a second platform over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of said below-the-line conveyor, and wherein the terminal end of the first conveyor is adjacent and spaced above said second platform, a transfer plate movable between a first position aligned with the first platform and closely adjacent said terminal end and a second position spaced outwardly of said first position and aligned with said second platform, and means for moving the flights of Said conveyors and said plate in such timed 'relation that the crackers are advanced onto said plate in said rst position and are carried away from said plate when it is in its second position.

4. Mechanism as in claim 3 wherein the transfer plate is secured to `a block, and further wherein is provided an eccentric on which said transfer plate is mounted,

said block having a tail projecting below said eccentric,

a link pivotally connected to said tail at one end and pivotally mounted on a xed shaft longitudinally offset from the tail.

45. Mechanism as in claim 3 wherein the second plat- `form comprises a pair of laterally spaced rails for a cornpositely formed guideway -for laterally locating the Ibottommost cracker and between which said transfer plate projects, said flights of the beloW-the-line conveyor passing over said platform rails, laterally spaced guides -aligned with the sides of the guideway of said second platform for laterally positioning the stacked crackers on the bottommost cracker.

6. Mechanism for the high speed transfer of stacked crackers or like articles between lan overhead conveyor and a below-the-line conveyor for feeding of the crackers into a Wrapping machine, wherein the overhead conveyor comprises spaced flights, and the beloW-the-line conveyor also comprises spaced flights, :a first platform over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of the overhead conveyor, a second platform spaced beneath the first platform and over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of the below-the-line conveyor, and wherein the first platform has an end adjacent said second platform, a transfer plate movable between a first position aligned with the first platform and closely adjacent the end thereof, and a second position aligned with the second platform, and means for moving the flights of said conveyors and said plate in such timed relation that crackers are advanced by one conveyor onto said plate in one of said positions and carried away from said plate by the other conveyor when the plate is in its other position, thereby transferring said crackers fromone conveyor to another in combination with registering means disposed :along the platform to which the crackers are transferred, said registering means comprising |a finger rotatable in advance of a stack of crackers so transferred, means for rotating said linger at a speed such that the trailing face of the finger will be spaced from the flight advancing the transferred crackers, a distance equal to the width of the crackers and said trailing face will be parallel to the leading face of said night, and means for rapidly swinging said finger lahead of said crackers once said spaced relationship has been reached.

7. Mechanism for the high speed transfer of stacked crackers or like articles from an overhead conveyor to a below-the-line conveyor, wherein the overhead conveyor comprises spaced flights and the below-the-line conveyor also comprises spaced ights, a first platform over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of the overhead conveyor towards the terminal end thereof, a second platform over which the crackers are advanced by the flights of said below-the-line conveyor and wherein the terminal end of the first conveyor is adjacent to and spaced above said second platform, a transfer plate movable between a first position aligned with the rst platform and closely adjacent said terminal end, and a second position spaced outwardly of said first position and aligned with said second platform, and means for moving the flights of said conveyors and said plate in such timed relation that the crackers are advanced onto said plate in said first position and are carried away from said plate when it is in its second position, and guide means for laterally registering the crackers of each stack as they are advanced along said second platform in combination with registering means also disposed along said second platform, said registering means comprising a finger rotatable in advance of a stack of crackers conveyed along said second platform, means for so rotating said linger and maintaining said finger in substantial parallel relationship with said flight for a finite period, said last named means spacing said finger away from said flight a distance equal to the width of the crackers and means for rapidly swinging said finger ahead of said crackers once said spaced relationship has been reached.

8. A registering device for use in combination with a conveyor comprising flights which have an upright leading face for engaging and advancing a stack of crackers or like articles, a platform comprising a pair of laterally spaced rails along which said crackers are advanced, said platform having a guideway for laterally locating the lower cracker of each stack and guide means spaced above said platform for laterally registering each stacked cracker centrally upon the bottom cracker of .the stack, said registering means further comprising a finger movable between said rails for longitudinally registering the crackers of said stack, a spider on which said finger is rotatably mounted, means for rotating said spider to bring said finger in advance of the stack of crackers conveyed by said flight, cam means for pivoting said finger relative to said spider in a manner maintaining said finger in substantial parallel relationship with said flight yfor a finite period, said .last named means spacing said finger away from `said `flight Ia `distance equal to .the width of the crackers, at least for |a momentary period, said cam means further rapidly swinging said finger ahead of said crackers once said spaced relationship has been reached.

9. A registering device as in claim 8 wherein a plurality of ilingers are mounted on said spinder for successively registering the crackers of successive stacks, and further wherein each of the finger-s is yieldingly mounted relative to the spider.

10. A registering device -for use in combination with a conveyor comprising flights which have an rupright leading face 'for engaging and advancing a stack of crackers or like articles, a platform along which said crackers are advanced, said registering means comprising a finger rotatable in advance of the stack of crackers conveyed by said flight, means for so rotating said finger and maintaining said finger in substantial parallel relationship with said flight for a finite period, said last named means spacing said finger away Ifrom said flight a distance equal to the width of the crackers and means for rapidly swinging said finger ahead of said crackers once said spaced relationship has been reached.

ll. A registering device for use in combination with a 'conveyor comprising flights which have an upright leading -face for engaging and advancing a stack of crackers or the like, a platform along which the crackers are advanced, said registering means comprising a finger rotatable in advance of the stack of articles conveyed by said flight, means -for so rotating said nger at a speed such that the trailing face of the linger will be spaced from one of said flights a distance equal to the width of the crackers when said trailing face is parallel to the leading -face of said flight, 'and means yfor rapidly swinging said finger ahead of said stack of crackers once said spaced relationship has been reached.

OMalley Apr. 1, 1941 Atwood June 15, 1954 

